Introduction

This book, Essays in Search of Understanding, covers a wide range of topics from “Puzzles and Problems in Buddhism” to so-called “unconditional love.” Many of them are short and pithy, meant more as discussion starters than as something authoritative and final. But all of them reflect considerable thought and inquiry. Thoughts and lines of argument which may well both spark your own interest and further your own thinking on these topics.

Purpose and Approach

But the book is not an exercise in technical or academic philosophy. Reading and understanding it does not require an advanced degree in philosophy, it only requires an interest in any of the various subject matters and a willingness to wrestle with ideas. The shortness of many of the essays and their open-endedness are meant to invite the reader into an evening's discussion.

Engagement and Reflection

It can often be both challenging and enlightening to come to see what you actually believe about a topic or, even more surprising, what your beliefs about a particular subject commit you to believing about still other subjects. Enjoy!